TikTok explained for parents: The latest on trends, challenges and potential dangers
TikTok is a virtual hangout embraced by tweens and teens. Newsday asked a Long Island TikTok influencer, an Adelphi University digital media professor and other experts to explain what draws students to the social media app, as well as its potentially unsafe aspects.
TikTok launched in China, and in 2018 became available worldwide. The app is used by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world, according to The Associated Press. It allows users to post and watch 15-second to 3-minute videos with music and filters, many of which are entertaining or humorous. TikTok uses an algorithm — a system for tracking what each user likes to see and sending more of those types of videos to the user’s feed. Users also can tell TikTok what they enjoy — say Latin dancing, soccer, or hip-hop — and TikTok will populate their feed with personalized content. “The more active you are on TikTok, the more the algorithm tailors content to your interests so you enjoy watching and stay on,” says John Drew, an associate professor of digital media and design at Adelphi University in Garden City. Users don’t have to “follow” others to see their public videos. There is an option for users to post privately, for their followers only.
Challenges can be goofy or funny, urging users to try doing something, and TikTok users copy them and post videos of their attempts. “Usually, it starts from one creative person at home,” says Grace Mary Williams, 23, of Huntington Station, a full-time content producer who has 1.9 million TikTok followers. Williams, for instance, promoted a Frozen Jell-O Challenge — instead of letting Jell-O set in the refrigerator, she froze it in colorful layers, then posted the video of herself eating it. “The reason why people love it is when you bite it, it’s super crunchy,” she says.
A recent local trend on TikTok is people taste testing Crumbl Cookies from the chain’s newest venue that just opened in Levittown. National trends include trying the "butterfly haircut" (an at-home layering haircut technique), posting "get ready with me" makeup tutorial videos and trying various food combinations (like Fruit Roll-Ups and pickles or ice cream).
The bolder the challenge, the more it often will stand out and get the attention of others, says Josh Ochs, founder of Smartsocial.com, a website parents and schools can visit to stay updated on the latest apps and trends. Sometimes, a celebrity will do a challenge, giving it even more exposure. When certain videos start getting a lot of traction and shares, TikTok will boost their exposure among users. “Then the ball just starts rolling and everybody starts doing it,” Williams says. Students share them with their friends online or through word-of-mouth.
“The fear of missing out is very real at that age,” Drew says. “To be cool, you’ve got to know what’s happening on social media. You don’t want to be the last person to know about a trend.” Drew has a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old, and he says that even though they don’t have smartphones, they know about TikTok.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they know about challenges I don’t know about, because these things get talked about in school hallways,” Drew says. Sharing the challenges can give students the likes, comments and views they crave, helping them to get attention and be more "popular" online and even add to their social clout in real life, Ochs says.
During the pandemic, Scott Graviano, principal at Newfield High School in Selden, created his own TikTok account so he could stay in touch with students by meeting them where they are online. He posted funny videos of himself to show kids his human side, he says; one of them, for instance, showed him at various locations in the school building dressed in school spirit gear while he lip-synced the words to the song, “Mr. Lonely.” He also posted himself trying TikTok dance challenges with his college-age daughter and did some serious motivational videos to help students who might have been struggling during the shutdown. “The kids have not left me alone about making more TikTok videos,” he jokes.
Laura Catapano, who teaches 11th grade and college English at Newfield, has students use a #BookTok area of TikTok to create virtual book reviews. Catapano says she hopes by using social media she can encourage students to read more. "I’ll call that a win,” Catapano says. Students also use TikTok to post about causes important to them, Ochs says.
Many videos feature harmless trends and challenges, but some are potentially dangerous. A recent "Kool-Aid Man Challenge," involving damaging property, led to the arrest of teens who allegedly knocked down portions of a fence in Centereach, police say. “If other peers are saying this is the thing to do, kids who are more vulnerable, they’re actually going to do it,” says Kim Gilbert, a child psychologist and associate professor at Hofstra University. Parents should ask their children to walk them through TikTok and talk to them frequently about what they watch on it, she says.
“Once the young adult feels like the parent is trying to learn rather than to judge or shut them down, they’re more likely to share the experience,” Drew agrees. Many TikTok users have bonded with their parents, too, for instance, by doing a dance challenge together and posting it. “It’s easier to understand what our children may be exposed to, positive and negative, on social media if we inhabit these spaces with them, to the extent we are allowed to,” Drew says.
In the coming weeks, TikTok plans to have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit for users under the age of 18. When the limit is reached, they will be prompted to enter a pass code to keep watching. For users younger than 13, a parent will have to enter a code to allow an additional 30 minutes.
TikTok is a virtual hangout embraced by tweens and teens. Newsday asked a Long Island TikTok influencer, an Adelphi University digital media professor and other experts to explain what draws students to the social media app, as well as its potentially unsafe aspects.
What is TikTok?
TikTok launched in China, and in 2018 became available worldwide. The app is used by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world, according to The Associated Press. It allows users to post and watch 15-second to 3-minute videos with music and filters, many of which are entertaining or humorous. TikTok uses an algorithm — a system for tracking what each user likes to see and sending more of those types of videos to the user’s feed. Users also can tell TikTok what they enjoy — say Latin dancing, soccer, or hip-hop — and TikTok will populate their feed with personalized content. “The more active you are on TikTok, the more the algorithm tailors content to your interests so you enjoy watching and stay on,” says John Drew, an associate professor of digital media and design at Adelphi University in Garden City. Users don’t have to “follow” others to see their public videos. There is an option for users to post privately, for their followers only.
What is a TikTok challenge?
Challenges can be goofy or funny, urging users to try doing something, and TikTok users copy them and post videos of their attempts. “Usually, it starts from one creative person at home,” says Grace Mary Williams, 23, of Huntington Station, a full-time content producer who has 1.9 million TikTok followers. Williams, for instance, promoted a Frozen Jell-O Challenge — instead of letting Jell-O set in the refrigerator, she froze it in colorful layers, then posted the video of herself eating it. “The reason why people love it is when you bite it, it’s super crunchy,” she says.
A recent local trend on TikTok is people taste testing Crumbl Cookies from the chain’s newest venue that just opened in Levittown. National trends include trying the "butterfly haircut" (an at-home layering haircut technique), posting "get ready with me" makeup tutorial videos and trying various food combinations (like Fruit Roll-Ups and pickles or ice cream).
Why do certain TikTok trends and challenges catch on?
The bolder the challenge, the more it often will stand out and get the attention of others, says Josh Ochs, founder of Smartsocial.com, a website parents and schools can visit to stay updated on the latest apps and trends. Sometimes, a celebrity will do a challenge, giving it even more exposure. When certain videos start getting a lot of traction and shares, TikTok will boost their exposure among users. “Then the ball just starts rolling and everybody starts doing it,” Williams says. Students share them with their friends online or through word-of-mouth.
“The fear of missing out is very real at that age,” Drew says. “To be cool, you’ve got to know what’s happening on social media. You don’t want to be the last person to know about a trend.” Drew has a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old, and he says that even though they don’t have smartphones, they know about TikTok.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they know about challenges I don’t know about, because these things get talked about in school hallways,” Drew says. Sharing the challenges can give students the likes, comments and views they crave, helping them to get attention and be more "popular" online and even add to their social clout in real life, Ochs says.
How is TikTok used in a positive way?
During the pandemic, Scott Graviano, principal at Newfield High School in Selden, created his own TikTok account so he could stay in touch with students by meeting them where they are online. He posted funny videos of himself to show kids his human side, he says; one of them, for instance, showed him at various locations in the school building dressed in school spirit gear while he lip-synced the words to the song, “Mr. Lonely.” He also posted himself trying TikTok dance challenges with his college-age daughter and did some serious motivational videos to help students who might have been struggling during the shutdown. “The kids have not left me alone about making more TikTok videos,” he jokes.
Laura Catapano, who teaches 11th grade and college English at Newfield, has students use a #BookTok area of TikTok to create virtual book reviews. Catapano says she hopes by using social media she can encourage students to read more. "I’ll call that a win,” Catapano says. Students also use TikTok to post about causes important to them, Ochs says.
How can parents help their children avoid TikTok dangers?
Many videos feature harmless trends and challenges, but some are potentially dangerous. A recent "Kool-Aid Man Challenge," involving damaging property, led to the arrest of teens who allegedly knocked down portions of a fence in Centereach, police say. “If other peers are saying this is the thing to do, kids who are more vulnerable, they’re actually going to do it,” says Kim Gilbert, a child psychologist and associate professor at Hofstra University. Parents should ask their children to walk them through TikTok and talk to them frequently about what they watch on it, she says.
“Once the young adult feels like the parent is trying to learn rather than to judge or shut them down, they’re more likely to share the experience,” Drew agrees. Many TikTok users have bonded with their parents, too, for instance, by doing a dance challenge together and posting it. “It’s easier to understand what our children may be exposed to, positive and negative, on social media if we inhabit these spaces with them, to the extent we are allowed to,” Drew says.
Can parents limit the time their children spend on TikTok?
In the coming weeks, TikTok plans to have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit for users under the age of 18. When the limit is reached, they will be prompted to enter a pass code to keep watching. For users younger than 13, a parent will have to enter a code to allow an additional 30 minutes.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
